Spaghetti with Spicy Bell Pepper Sauce

This is a really simple recipe that you can make in 30 minutes at home. I made this last night for dinner with ingredients I had at home, and I thought it was good enough to share with everyone. The recipe serves two people.

Ingredients

Spaghetti with Spicy Bell Pepper Sauce

• 2 Italian sausages- mild or hot
• 2 servings of spaghetti
• 1 package of frozen three pepper and onion blend
• 2 tbsps of tomato paste
• 2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of red chili flakes
• 2 tsps of Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp to spaghetti water and salt to taste to sauce

Preparation

First cook two servings of spaghetti in a large pot of water with 1 tbsp of salt. Once done, set to the side and keep the water. Slice up sausages. Cook the sausages in a large pan on the stove for two minutes with a little olive oil on a medium heat to brown the sausage. 

Cooking sausage in a pan and browning the sides of all the pieces

Then, add the frozen three pepper and onion veggie blend. Reduce the temperature to a medium heat and cook covered for five minutes. 

The package of frown veggies I used.

Add tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, red chili flakes, and Italian seasoning. Then, stir the ingredients with three full ladles of spaghetti water. Cover again to cook for five minutes on a medium heat. 

Cooking the sauce

Then, add the cooked spaghetti and, allow it to cook for another two minutes uncovered. 

Adding the spaghetti. Turn off and allow to cool to get sauce a little thicker. 

Serve warm and sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese over the pasta. This is a perfect dish to make after a long day when you want something comforting to eat. Enjoy! :0)   

Easy Huevos Rancheros

I love spicy eggs for breakfast. This recipe is a simple way to make huevos rancheros at home. My recipe makes one large breakfast.

Ingredients

Huevos Rancheros. My breakfast.

• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cup of fresh chopped tomato
• 1/8 cup of chopped white onion
• 1 or more tbsps of roasted, pickled, or fresh chopped jalapeno peppers
• 1/8 cup of water
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt, or as much as needed
• 1 tbsp of fresh cilantro
• 1/8 cup of mozzarella cheese 

Preparation 

Ranchero Sauce

First, add chopped tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos to a warm non-stick skillet with a bit of olive oil on medium high heat. Allow everything to saute for two minutes. Then, add the water, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, and cilantro. Continue to cook for five to seven minutes or until the water and tomato paste form a thick sauce. 

Adding eggs

Once the sauce is thicker, make a opening in the center and add two eggs unbeaten as shown in the picture. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Adding cheese

Then, add mozzarella cheese along the top. Place pan back  in the oven for a 3 more minutes if you want your eggs soft/runny or continue to cook for 10 minutes for a hard yolk. 

Serve warm with a corn tortilla and garnished with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!!    

Hawaiian Burgers with Avocado Spread

This is a older recipe of mine I made a while back. But, I love it and would love to make it again. The recipe does require a bit of prepping but turns out delicious. Great to make during the summer time. This recipe will make 4 hamburgers

Ingredients

Delicious! 

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 4 hamburger buns or Hawaiian bread buns
• 3 tbsp of teriyaki sauce
• one small red onion- 1/4 cup chopped and the remainder sliced
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• add salt to taste
• 1 tbsp of garlic powder
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• one fresh pineapple- 1/4 cup chopped and four slices for each burger
• 1 small avocado 
• 1/8 cup of sour cream
• 1/8 cup of mayonnaise 
• slices of lettuce
• gruyere cheese

Preparation

First, open up ground beef and put in a bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1/4 cup of chopped red onion, 1/4 cup of pineapple, 3 tbsps of teriyaki sauce, and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Mix all the ingredients together. Add more bread crumbs if the mixture is really moist. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for a hour. 

Next, make a avocado spread for the hamburgers by smashing up a small avocado with a 1/8 cup of sour cream and 1/8 cup of mayonnaise . Add salt to taste.  Put in the fridge until ready to serve the hamburgers.  

Heat up a grill pan or outside grill. Form ground beef mixture into four large patties. Grill patties as long as you prefer depending on well you want the meat cooked.  Add slices of gruyere cheese on the top of the patties when nearly cooked to melt the cheese.  Grill the slices of pineapple. In another pan, saute the slices of red onion with a little olive oil. Heat up or toast hamburger buns for a few minutes.

Serve burgers by putting avocado spread on each slice of bread. Place patties on the bread topped with grilled pineapple, red onion, and a piece of lettuce. Serve with your favorite side.  I enjoyed mine with mango pineapple salad and oven fries. Bon Appetit!  

Baked White Fish with Kale

Baked white fish with kale is a super easy recipe. This recipe is healthy, low-calorie, low-carb, and very tasty. The recipe will serve two people.


Ingredients

My lunch! Yummy. 

• 2 large pieces of frozen white fish- swai or tilapia is the best. 
• 3 cups of fresh kale
• 3 tbsps of olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsps of Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsps of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsps of pepper
• 4 tbsps of red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp of salt

Preparation 

Fresh Kale

First, clean the kale by removing the long stems and keeping only the leaves. Wash all the leaves off with cold water to remove any dirt. Chop the kale into bite size pieces and set to the side. 

Kale in self-made aluminium bowl

Next, make a bowl with aluminium. (As shown in the picture to the left.) Put all the kale into the aluminium made bowl. Cover the kale evenly with with 4 tbsps red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp of italian seasoning, 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of black pepper, and 2 tbsps of olive oil.

Seasoned Frozen Swai Fillets

Then, take the the frozen fillets. Rub each with 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp of salt. Then, lay the fillets over the kale as shown in the picture. Then, sprinkle the tops of the fillets with 1/2 tsp of red pepper and 1/2 tbsp of Italian season. Add more salt and/or red pepper if desired.

*I do only recommend using frozen fillets because it turns out better from my experience.* 

Fish in the oven ready to cook!

Cover the top with more aluminium foil and make sure there are no holes to allow for the fish and kale to stem in the oven. Put the fish in the oven for 30 minutes to a hour at 375 degrees. The cooking time will depend on the size of each frozen fillet. So, check after 30 minutes. Cook until each fillet is white and flaky. 

Enjoy! The recipe is best served warm with a glass of white wine and piece of your favorite bread. 

Herb and Garlic Baked Chicken

 Oven baked chicken is one of my favorite recipes to make at home. It is healthy, yummy, and easy to cook.  I will describe to you step-by-step how to make oven baked chicken. This recipe will easily serve 4 people.

Ingredients

Oven baked chicken with potatoes and carrots. My lunch today. :)

• 1 whole chicken- about 2 to 3 pounds.
• 6 small red potatoes
• 3 large carrots
• 1 tbsp of fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp of fresh rosemary
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp of kosher salt
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• Olive oil

Preparation

First make roasted garlic by placing peeled garlic cloves into a small ovenproof dish. Cook in the oven covered with about a tsp of olive oil at 400 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the garlic is soft. Set aside to cool. 

Then, remove the raw chicken from any wrapping and rinse the chicken off with running water. Remove the gizzard, heart, and neck from inside the chicken. Once the chicken is clean, place the chicken in a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Be sure to wash your hands and any surfaces the chicken has touched to prevent the spread of salmonella. 

Raw chicken ready to go into the oven. 

Next, crush up the fresh thyme and rosemary in a mortar and pestle with kosher salt and about 2 tsp of olive oil. Make sure to remove all the stems from the herbs. Crush the herbs until a mushy consistency is made. Now, rub the cooked cloves of garlic and the herbs all over the chicken. Then, slice up your potatoes and carrots into large size pieces. Place the veggies around the chicken. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken and veggies. Pour about a tbsp or so of olive oil over your raw veggies and chicken. 

Chicken is cooked and ready to enter my belly. Delicious!

Cover the the chicken in the casserole dish with aluminum foil and put the chicken into a 375 degree preheated oven for two hours. Then, uncover the chicken and broil the chicken for about 5 minutes to brown the skin. Before broiling, you can rub butter on the skin to help make the chicken skin crispy. (This is optional.) 

Serve the chicken warm with the veggies on the side. Enjoy!

Okra Potato Fritters

Okra potato fritters are delicious and unique way to make okra. This recipe is my new twist on southern fried okra. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Okra Potato Fritters

• 1/2  pound of okra
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of white corn meal
• 1 tbsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 tbsp of chipolte seasoning (optional)
• 2 tbsp of season salt 
• 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1 large russet potato- graded

Preparation 

First, slice the okra long wise into strips like french fries. Put the okra in a container and cover with water with 1 tbsp of salt. Allow the okra to soak for about a hour in the refrigerator. After a hour, pour off the water and rince with water again to remove the slimey coat off the okra.

Next, beat two eggs in one bowl and add a cup of milk. Then, add 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Then, in another bowl add flour and corn meal. Mix together with 1 tbsp of season salt. Lastly, place the graded potato in a bowl and season with 1 tbsp of season salt along with the optional cayenne pepper and chipotle seasoning to make the batter spicy.

Finally, heat up vegetable oil in a large skillet. Fill the pan you use half way with oil. Heat the oil on  medium high heat. Then, batter the okra by soaking the okra in the egg mixture, coat with the flour/corn meal, and cover with the shredded potatoes. Fry the okra on each side until the potatoes turn a medium brown. 

After the okra is cooked, let the okra cool on a paper towel for a few minutes to remove any extra oil before serving. Enjoy the okra with your favorite southern meal.